The Runaway Princess
by ThePepsiNinja
Summary: Zelda's sister Fila is ordered to leave the castle before disaster strikes. What she doesn't know is it's not when she leaves the palace, but when she meets Link in Kakariko village that her life completely changes. Link X OC
1. Preface

A/N: Fila (pronounced fai-luh) Is an original character that came to my head when I was about to go to sleep a few weeks ago and she wouldn't freaking leave me alone. lol. Not to say that I don't like her, but did she really have to disturb my sleep? Anyway, here she is in my very first Zelda fic. Gotta tell you though, I always planned for my first one to be for Ocarina of Time instead of Twilight Princess, but no matter.

This is the only chapter I'm planning on writing in 3rd person perspective.

Reviews please?

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><p>Fila was worried. Her sister was ushering her out of the palace. All Zelda told her was that a huge darkness was coming and she'd be safer somewhere other than the palace. It scared Fila, but she listened to her sister obediently.<p>

Fila was wearing a long lavender purple dress with an empire waist, sleeveless, with four long ties of satin, two of which were connected to the very top of her dress and wrapped around her arms to act as an elegant scarf. The other two were wrapped around her torso just below her breasts, making the empire waist, and had golden symbols on them with a triforce symbol on the ends of them. Her brilliant red hair was half curled, half put into a simple ponytail at the very end of her hair. Caramel colored eyes scanned the town anxiously. It was the middle of the night, approximately two in the morning. Zelda said that it was imperative no one saw Fila leaving. Royalty escaping the palace only meant more for the kingdom to worry about, and as future queen, Zelda was willing to go to great lengths to make sure that never happened.

Zelda, Fila, and the two guards with them led without a hitch through the south entrance, never being spotted. At the entrance, right by the stone stairs was Fila's trusty dun colored stallion, Albion, waiting for his rider.

"Just go to Kakariko village. Seek out Renado. He's a good shaman who will look after you." Zelda instructed, helping Fila get into the saddle.

"How do I get there? And what if he knows who I am?" Fila's half-soprano, half-alto voice asked anxiously.

"Follow the path. Do not go off of the path. Make your way to the pass between the rock walls south east from here and continue to follow the path to a wooden bridge. Across that bridge is a gate that will lead you straight into the village." Zelda paused, looking up at her sister, now on Albion correctly. "He probably won't know who you are. If he does, it shouldn't matter. You are a princess of Hyrule and as such he must treat you with respect." Fila nodded once, signifying she understood.

"Fila. Please be careful."

"I will. Zelda."

Zelda nodded, showing her younger sister an apologetic, sad smile. The air was thick with worry. Neither of them knew when they'd see each other again, if at all, and both of them wanted to cry because of it, but held it back, either not wanting the other to see them weak like that or simply not wanting them to worry any more.

"I'll miss you." Fila finally said, her voice cracking just a little on the last part. Zelda shushed her gently, grasping her hand.

"As will I you. You are my sister after all. It is only natural that I will worry for you intensely. But please, you need to leave and quickly. The darkness is coming and I want you far away from here and from danger when it happens." Zelda said, rushing through the last part of her dialogue. Fila nodded, saying one last goodbye to her sister and kicking Albion in the sides gently. She took the soft red reins and turned him around and kicked him in the sides, the horse trotting down the first smooth ramp, cantering down the second, and galloping through the large pass in the stone separating the castle from the field of Hyrule. A tear escaped Zelda's eye as she watched her sister ride away from the palace they both grew up in before a soft smile appeared on her face. She'd see Fila again soon. Then she frowned up at the sky, an ominous feeling overtaking her. Darkness was rapidly approaching. She turned to the two guards with her and putting on her regal mask to guard her emotions, she gave a steady command.

"Tell the rest of the royal guard to prepare for battle. This isn't going to end well."


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Dun dun dun duuuunnnnn! The official first chapter. If all goes right, every chapter from here on will be either completely or almost totally written in first point perspective, with few exceptions.

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><p>Albion rode quickly down the path like Zelda instructed. I panicked at the sight of the skeletal dogs surfacing from the cobblestone path, but kept riding no less. I had just made it to the pass when two buzzards came down and started to swoop down. In a frenzy, Albion panicked, rearing up and turning straight around, heading for a different direction entirely. I was shocked. He led us to a different pass, with a strange railing like carving in the side, all the way through the pass and to a rundown wooden bridge. This couldn't be the one Zelda was talking about. Alas, it wasn't, as it lead to a vast field, much bigger than the last. And to make matters worse, here was a band of thief bokoblins on their abhorrent boars coming to me with arrows aflame and clubs ready. Adrenaline kicked in and I kicked Albion in the sides to make him run. And run he did, past the band and towards the center of the field.<p>

Dammit, I cursed in my head. Not only did I not know where to go, but I had pursuers. The ugly green creatures grunted and sounded battle cries from behind me. The heat of one arrow grazed my right tricep. Up ahead I saw a large rock formation and decided it'd be safe to head there. I directed Albion where I wanted him to go with the reins. He obeyed, running straight for the rocks. Unfortunately, the bandits were right behind me and closing in and Albion was getting tired. The bandits caught up, the ones with clubs laughed darkly, swinging them at me. A few of them missed, but one in particular connected with my stomach. If it weren't for my hold on Albion's reins, I would've fallen off. Another scratched my left forearm. I hissed at that one, kicking Albion again to see if he could go faster.

Sensing my urgency, he picked up the pace, running like mad. We were almost to the rocks when those damned buzzards came back. One swooped down hitting me just above the head, making Albion panic and veer off track again. If it hadn't been for me forcefully grabbing the reins and ripping them back, we would have fallen off the cliff. Another attempt to dive-bomb us was enough to make Albion pick back up, heading towards the rocks again, like I planned. Fortunately enough, once we got across the rocks, the bandits stopped following us. It was the buzzards that were still a problem though. They kept attacking me, their beaks pecking and slashing at my exposed skin and making gaping holes in one of my favorite dresses, which vexed me to no end. Albion kept going amazingly enough, going through the pass in the rocks, and eventually not only losing the buzzards, but also coming into a town.

I let out a sigh of relief. The sun was barely even risen, a line of light appearing on the horizon, turning the formerly navy sky to a dark periwinkle color. I looked down at myself, seeing trails of blood, scratches, and tears in my skirt. Adrenaline was fading and the pain was starting to set in. Albion walked further into the town until we saw a large spring. Albion walked eagerly towards it. I laughed and jumped off. Probably not the smartest thing, considering how I landed. My knee buckled under my and I fell to my knees, scraping them as well. I cursed in my head. Nearby was a peculiar looking building. I gathered myself up and limped over to the large door and knocked. It wasn't long before a very tall man with long dreadlocks and a VERY pronounced set of lips and robes answered the door. He looked down at me and his face showed worry.

"What happened?" He asked, grabbing me by the shoulders as my knee caved out from under me again.

"I was attacked. Bokoblins and buzzards are beginning to become a nuisance aren't they?" I inquired. I've barely been outside the palace but I had heard about them. I just didn't know they were as bad as that.

"Indeed they are. Come. Sit down in the spring. It'll heal your wounds."

I looked at him, puzzled. How could this water heal? But I wasn't the shaman, he was. He smiled kindly to me, leading my limping self over to the spring where Albion was drinking happily. I did as told and sat down in the shallow water, ignoring my dress for now. He was right. As soon as the water hit my skin, I felt it tingle and a warm, comforting sensation came over me. The wounds I had received began to hum and close, a small amount of light coming from them before completely disappeared. Unbelievable.

I'd never witnessed anything like this. Healing water. People would love to have this. Think of all the lives that would be saved if we bottled it and gave it to the people who needed it? But I couldn't think of that now. I needed to find this Renado, whoever he was.

"Thank you sir." I said breathlessly. He nodded, still lightly smiling.

"You're welcome." He replied nicely.

"Excuse me, but do you happen to know where a Renado is? Or is this Kakariko Village?" I asked curiously, looking up at him. He smiled and nodded his head, humming.

"This is Kakariko Village, and I am Renado, the shaman. Why do you ask?"

I hesitated, opting to tell him some of the truth but not all of it. If he hasn't alluded to any indication of knowing me then it's likely he has no idea and I'd prefer to keep it that way.

"My sister told me to come here. She…thought it'd be safer if I came here instead of staying where we were." He looked at me sympathetically.

"I'm sorry. Where were you living before?"

"Castle Town."

"Oh. Bad family?"

"Erm, something like that I guess."

"Well, please accept my condolences." I nodded, smiling lightly. This guy was so nice. "Would you like some place to stay?" I nodded furiously after hearing that. He smiled, nodding and motioning for me to stand up. I got up hastily and followed him down the dirt trail to a run-down looking house nearby. There was a railing in front and the door was metal. He opened the door, and led me inside. There were-it looked like three-beds that were covered in debris and the floor was covered in broken glass. There was a small table near one of the beds and a crate by another. The sink was small, but still a sink. And above it was a small shelf. The two armoires has some broken handles and the shine was coming off the wood from dust and age. The cabinet doors were coming off and there was a dusty odor to the room. This place was a mess!

"Um…" I started in a shaky voice, not sure where to start. This was nothing like I was used to. He laughed at my reaction and faced me once more.

"I understand it's a mess, but it's vacant, and it'll have to do. I'll clean this a little while you go talk to my daughter Luda about your clothes. She'll get you some new ones. She's nearby. You'll recognize her immediately. She has short black hair and the softest brown eyes." He spoke with pride for his kin. It made me smile. I nodded and did as he told, going to go find her. I did eventually, chasing a cuckoo. This made me laugh. She looked up at me with curious eyes.

"Who are you?" She asked, walking up to me, tilting her head to the side in a curious manner. I smiled softly and with a bit of pride introduced myself.

"My name is Fila. You must be Luda, am I correct?" I asked. When she nodded, I beamed. "Excellent. Your father told me to find you. He said you could help me get into better clothes, seeing as mine was savagely torn on the way over here. I apologize. I must look like a monster in this getup." I curtsied slightly in a show of respect. She smiled calmly up to me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. I can help you, in fact. This way." She took me by the hand and led me to a nearby building and went to the back, looking in one of the wooden crates. She pulled from it a long, white, dress, the sleeves short, and would probably reach just past my shoulders, with a sheer, see-through material flowing and would most likely stop at my wrists. The skirt was beautiful, flowing, one side shorter than the other, but still elegant, made to look that way. It had no embellishes, no jewels, nothing flashy. Just white cotton and what looked to be chiffon. I smiled and took it from her gratefully. She also handed me a pair of satin white slippers. I was about to change when Luda stopped me.

"I hate to be rude, but you should bathe before putting that on. You look like you've been through a lot. You're caked in dust and dried blood." I looked down at myself and cringed. She was right. I wasn't kidding earlier. I did look like a monster. I nodded, asking her where I could wash. She said there was a refreshing hot spring at the top of the hotel, overlooking the village. I nodded and hummed, letting her lead me there, carrying the dress and slippers in my arms. Once there, I let out a sigh of relief. It looked so inviting.

"Thank you." I thanked her, giving my clothes to her, looking down at my dress. I didn't want to bring the entire thing with me but I certainly didn't want to strip completely. The thought alone made my face flare up, red as a rose. I looked to her pleadingly, who just went to a nearby rock, picked up a sharp looking one and handed it to me. Getting what she was implying, I smiled, taking the hem of my dress, taking a deep breath, and cutting off my dress up to above my knees. I nearly sobbed. That was one of my favorite dresses. I threw the unneeded rags in a random direction and stepped into the water. My muscles immediately relaxed and I felt relief come over me. The dried blood and dirt washed away in seconds but I didn't want to leave immediately, and finally got out a good twenty minutes later. I was grateful to Luda. She was horribly patient for someone who looked to be about only twelve or thirteen. She smiled at me and handed me my new dress, which I changed into hurriedly and discarded my old one. She took the soaked ruined one and led me down the hill.

"You feel better?" She asked me with a hint of humor to her voice.

"Much. Thank you." I said again.

"You're welcome. I hope you're happy while you're here. How long are you staying?" I flinched at that question.

"As long as I need to, Luda." I replied simply. She seemed to be somewhat satisfied with my answer, because she nodded and didn't press the matter any further. The sun had fully risen by now but I couldn't shake this incredibly dark feeling. If Zelda was right, which she always is. Not almost always, always; then something was coming, and it was something that wasn't pretty.

I walked slowly over to the spring where Albion was sipping happily at water, his wounds completely gone. I smiled and went over and pet him affectionately on the muzzle. He responded by blowing softly at me, his eyes shining.

"How are you feeling, boy?" I asked. He shook his head proudly, making me laugh in return. "Good boy. I'm going to see Renado again. Would you like to come with me?" I always talked to Albion like he were human. He liked it and it made me feel like I wasn't talking to a horse, but rather, family, which he most definitely was. He shook his head up and down as if to agree with me and walked with me to the house I'd be staying in from now on. I knocked on the door and went inside, pleased to see that the beds were cleared and there were fresh sheets and a very warm looking blue comforter and soft looking pillows. The floor had been swept of the glass and the cabinets were in much better condition. Renado looked up at me and smiled warmly.

"This'll have to do for now. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."

"Oh no, this is amazing. You didn't have to put this much work into it. Thank you." I said with the utmost gratitude. He nodded and left me alone to get myself comfortable. First, I walked out to Albion, who was still waiting for me patiently. I looked up at him, pet his straw-like brown mane and told him to do what he wanted to do as long as he didn't leave the village. He breathed out of his nose softly and went off to do whatever it is he wanted. I smiled and went back inside, kicking off my slippers and laying down on my bed. I was so tired I passed out seconds after my head hit the pillow.

A/N: Link will be in the next chapter, I promise my heart off. Promise promise promise.


	3. Chapter 2

_ThePepsiNinja:_ At long last, after more than a month, I have posted chapter 2. Sorry about the long wait. *bows* Well as promised, Link is very much in this chapter. As soon as I play more of the game and advance the plot, I'll write and post the third chapter.

_Link:_ At least you're getting off your lazy butt.

_ThePepsiNinja:_ Actually, all I had to do was sit on my lazy butt with my laptop to write this. You. Fail.

_Link:_ *glares*

_ThePepsiNinja:_ Do I really have to do the disclaimer thingie for everything I write? Oh well. This is the only time I'm doing it for this fic. Every chapter before and afterwards isn't really necessary is it? I don't own the Legend of Zelda series, Nintendo does. And onward...

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><p>I awoke sharply to the sound of cracking above me and the feeling of something landing on my bed. When I sat up, I came face-to-face with the most gorgeous creature I'd ever seen: A grey wolf with Caribbean blue eyes. The brow of the animal glowed with a soft yellow light in the form of a foreign symbol. I gasped, staring at it. For a moment, it looked at me too before breathing through its nose slightly as if to say goodbye and jumped off of my bed, moving the crate directly to the left of my bed to reveal a glowing, flying bug glowing with purple sparks on its body. I had to hold in another gasp. As soon as it was revealed, the animal tore into it with a powerful maw, tearing the insect in half, revealing a glowing orb of soft, blue light. The light enveloped the wolf. Said animal looked at me again before jumping on my wardrobes and up into the now gaping hole in my roof.<p>

I hastily threw the covers off of my body and rushed to the door, swinging it open hastily, wanting to follow the wolf, wherever it was going. I followed it from a distance. The beast went for the spring. Albion was nowhere in sight. I slightly panicked but kept my sight on the lovely creature. I hid behind the stone wall close to the shaman's hut and observed from there. A strange string, containing little blue, shimmering pearls of light came from the animal and floated out to the spring where a giant, graceful bird appeared. The bird spoke to the wolf before the most shocking thing happened.

I saw the wolf transform into a human right before my very eyes. I had to hold in my gasp in fear that the human would see me. Quite the attractive one, let me tell you-focus, Fila!

It was also around that time that the area around me got much lighter. Weird. I'd never noticed how dark it was before. And by the looks of it, it was still daytime. I wonder why the area was so dark then? My attention went back to the young man when he stood up from the shallow pool of water.

He was of average height, sporting a light chain mail and green tunic and a long green cap over his shaggy, dirty blond hair. His eyes remained the same enticing blue though. His skin was slightly tanned and even through the tunic I could see this young man was in very good shape. I heard the door to the hut open and Renado along with Luda, and five other people I'd never seen before came out. I came into the picture, same time as they did so I didn't look suspicious. The young man stopped and looked at us, smiling.

"You must be the young man from Ordona Province the young ones mentioned." Renado said. He looked at the young man with kindness, same as he did with me when I arrived here. "Link, is it?" The young man nodded and looked at all of us. "I am the shaman, Renado. This is my daughter, Luda." The young man-Link-nodded at the two in acknowledgment, the same smile on his face. He smiled at the four children and then regarded me and the strange man next to me in a slight wariness. Renado turned to the two of us and let out a light chuckle.

"Ah yes of course, this is Barnes, the village bomb expert." Renado motioned at Barnes, who looked at Link and nodded, his arms crossed over his huge belly. "And this is our newest resident, Fila." He motioned to me, who, out of habit, did a very graceful curtsey and folded my hands in my lap politely, nodding at Link.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, good sir." I said serenely. Link hesitated and nodded at me.

"Fila dear, we were worried you'd never wake up. You've been asleep for almost forty hours." Renado directed at me. I put my hand over my mouth in shock.

"Really? I only thought I'd been asleep for a little while. Wow. My sincerest apologies." I said with a slight bow. "I never meant to cause worry in any way." I said in the most respectful tone I could achieve at the moment. Renado only smiled at me.

"No need to apologize. You had a good excuse. You received quite the beating before you came here. You look much better now than you did then." I smiled and bowed slightly again.

Renado talked to Link about Death Mountain and the Gorons, the relationship between Kakariko Villagers and the Goron tribe suddenly going sour. After he told Link about the story, Link offered to go up and check things out for himself. Renado thanked him and watched the youth run up the trail leading to what I could only assume was Death Mountain. Renado put a hand on my shoulder.

"Would you like to accompany me? I would like to follow him to make sure he gets back in one piece." He smiled and I smiled in return, nodding.

While we were walking, I decided to open up the conversation of what had happened while I was knocked out.

"You missed something very terrifying indeed. Monsters, of wicked sorts came here. That was right around the time the four children came as well. I took them into my hut to keep them sheltered. I should have come to get you too but by the time I got everyone taken care of, the monsters were everywhere. It was either risk my life on the off chance I'd get to you and leave six helpless people unprotected, or leave you to fend for yourself. Forgive me." I dismissed it, saying I'd have probably done the same. "It's interesting though. It seems as if those wicked creatures never even attempted to touch you." He commented as we approached the mouth of Death Mountain entrance. This shocked me but I said nothing and could only nod and try to swallow the lump that had now settled in my throat. Bothersome things.

We were just in time to see Link get thrown off of the high platform ahead of us, landing square on his back. He yelled in pain and out of instinct I ran over to him.

I crouched down next to him, a worried look on my face.

"What happened?" Was the first thing out of my mouth. He groaned and tried sitting up. With a little help from myself, he was able to do so.

"There was a Goron at the top of the ledge. He got angry, said something about the elders saying no humans were allowed to pass into Death Mountain and then he slammed into me." Link winced as he tried to stand. I helped him do so once again. He brushed himself off and thanked me.

"We better get you to the spring. You look like you seriously injured yourself." I suggested, leading him away from the area over to Renado.

"Thank goodness you made it back in one piece." Renado commented.

"Hardly." Link chuckled slightly.

"You know, the mayor of Ordon, Bo, might know how to deal with this situation. I'd go back so I could talk to him." Renado suggested, smiling down at the two of us. We both nodded. Link was limping slightly, but after a while, he was able to support himself without my help.

We were a mere fifteen feet from the spring or so when we heard something loud. It sounded like repetitive pounding in the dirt trail and then the sound of two loud thuds and a frightened neigh of a horse. Link whipped around to see what was going on, just in time to see a crazed strawberry roan in a dead run. Link pushed me out of the way when he dove out of the way himself. The horse ran past him and into the spring, rearing up, completely terrified. He bolted up and ran towards the horse, leaping on its back and after quite a lot of crazed running, Link finally managed to calm it down. He patted her neck and smiled.

"That's a good girl." He said. I got up to my feet and walked over to them. He looked down at me and motioned towards the horse. "This is my horse, Epona." There was pride in his voice. The entire picture made a slight grin appear on my face.

"She's beautiful." I commented, petting through her straw-like mane. Oh crap, that reminds me.

Albion.

I scanned the area for my precious friend and once again didn't see him. Frantically, I searched my dress for the horse call I always kept on my person. Believe it or not, it was required for everyone in the royal family and the royal court to keep one. Each call had a distinct sound to it that our horses were trained to pick up on. I took mine with a shaky hand and blew into it, the distinct tune ringing into the air. I heard hoof beats nearby and soon my precious Albion was standing in front of me. He nuzzled my neck and snorted happily. I let our a sigh of relief.

"Where were you, you mischievous little-" I stopped, remembering Link was right there.

"This is my horse, Albion." I introduced Link, who nodded and smiled at him. "I suppose you have to get going, correct?" I asked. He nodded.

"Back to my village in Ordona Province. It's a long way away but I'll be back in no time." He seemed to say with a bit of pride.

"I see. Do you mind if I accompany you? It would be quite the honor to get to see more of Hyrule." I asked. I'd never been to Ordona. I'd only heard that it was a very small, forest community at the south most part of Hyrule. He regarded me seriously, as if debating in his head whether he should let me go or not. If all else fails I can play the princess card, demanding he escort me or he'll "face the consequences". The idea almost made me snort in amusement.

Then he nodded. I nodded in return, thanking him, and mounted Albion. Link lead the way out of the village.

I had to shield my face from the blinding sun. Link and Epona lead the way, jumping over the massive fence keeping Kakariko Village from the rest of the world. Strange. I wondered if that had always been shut.

The field looked so much different in the daylight than it did when it was shrouded in night. The field gave off this air of happiness, though I knew at the moment something terrible was happening and that peaceful air was nothing but artifice at the time.

We galloped through the narrow stone passage connecting Eldin Province from Faron Province. Link protected us the entire way there, slashing at a Bokoblin or two on the way there. I admired him already. He'd make a fine addition to the knights of Hyrule. I made a mental note to mention Link to Zelda, should we all get out of this in one piece.

We finally came to the great forest. As soon as we were there, Link slowed Epona to a trot. I did the same with Albion. The two horses seemed to be relieved with the slight rest. When we finally got into the village, the sun indicated it was about three in the afternoon. Link dismounted Epona and helped me off of Albion.

"So this is Ordon Village?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yep. This is where I've lived my whole life." He stated with an edge of pride in his voice. This made me smile. He loved this place, you could tell.

"So far it's lovely. I'd love to see more, if that is alright with you." I said cordially. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Why are you talking like that?" He inquired. I paused before answering his question with a question of my own.

"What's wrong with my speaking?"

"You're acting all formal and stuff. You don't need to. I mean, if you were royalty, it'd be different, or even rich. But…don't take this in any offense…I don't think you are. You can just…act normal around me."

Wow.

I didn't know whether to take his advice or be insulted. How dare he, after all. But then, if I just told him I'm royalty, then…what if everything got screwed up? I decided to bite my tongue and not say anything.

"I'd rather not, but thank you. I shall speak how I wish." I said the last part with more venom than I'd intended. He frowned at me for a second before a tense, awkward silence filled the air.

"Did I offend you?" He asked. No. No, not at all.

"A little, yes."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." I could tell by the look on his face he meant it. At that moment, my anger completely evaporated and I sighed.

"It's fine, really. No worries." I dismissed it. He smiled and nodded, motioning his head towards a small pass in the stone nearby. He began walking towards it and I followed obediently. When we came out on the other side, I had to hold in another gasp.

This place was beautiful.

I could hardly believe I had never been here before. Link took a look at my face and chuckled.

"It's nice, isn't it?"

"Nice isn't the word. I can't believe I've never even seen this place before. It's gorgeous." I managed to say after a while. The water was incredibly clear, littered with fish. The grass was a light yellow in some places, and a lush green in others. Large, vine covered pillars stood proud near the pond of water and a large, turning waterwheel was situated near the running stream up ahead. I absolutely loved this place and it hasn't even been five whole minutes.

"We need to go talk to the mayor, remember?" He reminded me, seeing me daze out, still taking in the scenery.

"Huh? Oh. Yes, we do. Forgive me." I apologized. He shrugged and started walking to a nearby building.

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><p><em>The suckiest ending ever. Oh well. Third chapter will be up much sooner than this one. Promise.<em>


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